Empty Netter Assists - 03-15-10
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. No word yet on Evgeni Malkin's health.
-The St. Petersburg Times' recap. Lightning forward Steven Stamkos suffered a lower-back injury when he was hit by Brooks Orpik early in the game.
-The Tampa Tribune's recap. "We played hard, we played well; we just gave them too many chances on the power play and that was the difference." - Lightning forward Paul Szczechura.
-The Associated Press' recap. Sidney Crosby (above, fending off Szczechura) got his own injury scare early on.
-Mike Lange's goal calls.
-Highlights courtesty of EN contributor GhostWalker40:
-Pascal Dupuis, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury speak:
-More funny faces from Dupuis:
-Happy times for the Penguins. Not so much for Tampa Bay's Nate Thompson:
-Happy times for Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury. Not so much for Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier:
-Here's that crazy third period scuffle which started with Ruslan Fedotenko and Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman:
-Sergei Gonchar being popular:
-"I can't get that stupid shutout." - Marc-Andre Fleury.
-Are Crosby and Malkin at risk because of Matt Cooke's actions?
-Brad Thiessen made 22 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Adirondack Phantoms.
-Adam Berkhoel made 16 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-1 loss to the Kalamozoo Wings.
-Happy 52nd birthday to former Penguins forward Tom Cassidy. A free agent signing prior to the 1977-78 season, Cassidy's entire NHL career consisted of 26 games for the Penguins that campain in which he scored seven points. He spent the rest of his professional career in the minors before retiring in 1979.
Atlantic Division
-One game after being a healthy scratch, Sean Avery (above) had two goals and led the Rangers to a 3-1 win against the Rangers. Chris Drury and former Penguin Erik Christensen each recorded two assists for New York while Henrik Lundqvist made all of 17 saves in the victory. Fire Ray Shero.
-"I know he is the worst teammate I've played with. And I know (the Rangers) feel the same way. That's all I'm going to say." - Flyers forward Ian Laperriere on Avery. The two were teammate with the Kings from 2002 through 2004.
-Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky should be your hero today for his beating of Flyers captain Mike Richards:
-There's really no one to root for in this dispute between Avery and Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell:
-Rangers forward and former Penguin Erik Christensen can't stand the breath of teammate and another former Penguin, Michal Rozsival:
-We think.
-Philadelphia's Chris Pronger did little to dispell those nasty rumors about the Flyers being thugs:
-Former Penguin Richard Park had a goal and an assist for the Islanders in a 4-1 defeat of the Maple Leafs. Fire Craig Patrick. Blake Comeau added three assists while Martin Biron made 26 saves in the victory.
-Check out this nifty pass by New York's Blake Comeau to set up Frans Nielsen's goal:
-Check out this goal by New York forward and former Penguins prospect Matt Moulson:
-That was his 25th goal of the season. Fire Ray Shero.
-Check out this hit by New York's Freddy Meyer on Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski:
-Islanders forward Matt Martin admitted he specifically tartgeted Maple leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf with a check along the boards which shook up Phaneuf. In the preseason, Phaneuf, then a member of the Flames, hit Islanders forward Kyle Okposo with a questionable mid-ice hit which injured Okposo.
-Martin's hit was dirty:
-Comeau laid out Toronto's Viktor Stalberg here:
-New York's Trevor Gillies and his fu-manchu being popular:
-Islanders defensem and Upper St. Clair native Dylan Reese tried to block this shot by Phaneuf:
-Moulson getting denied in front by Toronto's Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Pittsburgh native Christian Hanson is trailing:
Northeast Division
-Bruins forward Milan Lucic is still dealing with a high ankle sprain he suffered in November.
-"Right now it's fun to play against any team." - Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov on his team's five-game winning streak.
Southeast Division
-Nicklas Backstrom (above) had two goals, including one in overtime, and an assist and led the Capitals to a crazy 4-3 comeback win at Chicago. Teammate Mike Green had two assists while Jose Theodore made 20 saves. Jonathan Toews had two goals for Chicago which took a 3-0 lead into the third period.
-Backstrom's goal:
-This game was not without another violent incident. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was kicked out in the first period for this dangerous hit on Blackhawks defneseman Brian Campbell:
-Campbell could miss the rest of the season due to a broken collar bone.
-Ovechkin and his coach, Bruce Boudreau, defended the hit.
-Several of the Blackhawks called for Ovechkin's suspension.
-It looks like Ovechkin missed an automatic suspension by a game.
-Ovechkin surveying the damage:
-Chicago's Duncan Keith helped Washington's Alexander Semin adjust his lid:
-We think.
-Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian is dealing with a hand injury.
-The Hurricanes demoted forward Jerome Samson to Albany of the AHL.
Central Division
-Pekka Rinne (above, defending Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar) made all of 18 saves and led the Predators to a 3-2 win at Los Angeles. Nashville has won three out of its past four games.
-Nashville's Jordin Tootoo had issues with Los Angeles' Richard Clune:
-Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick stretched out for this save:
-Quick kept his eyes on this puck:
-Kings forward Ryan Smyth felt he got hosed on a goaltending interference call which turned the game.
-Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.
-This is left over from Saturday, but check check out this hit by Chicago's Andrew Ladd on Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo:
Northwest Division
-Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who we hear are twin brothers, each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks in a 3-1 defeat of the rival Flames. Roberto Luongo made 31 saves in the victory.
-Henrik Sedin passed up Trevor Linden for first place on the Canucks' all-time career assists list with his 416th helper.
-Henrik's assist on Daniel's goal:
-Check out the space Vancouver's Alex Burrows created to set up this goal by Ryan Kesler:
-Happy times for the Canucks. Not so much for Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff:
-Kiprusoff took an unpleasant seat on the bench eventually:
-This photo of Flames coach Brent Sutter pretty much says it all:
-Calgary's Vesa Toskala got a good look at this puck:
-Paul Stastny had two goals for the Avalanche in a 5-3 win against the Stars. Milan Hejduk and Darcy Tucker each had a goal and an assist for Colorado while teammate Kyle Cumiskey recorded two assists. Craig Anderson made a whopping 48 saves in the victory. Brandon Segal led Dallas with two goals.
-Anderson kept his eyes on this puck:
-Dallas' Jamie Benn was able to punch this one by Anderson:
-Colorado forward Cody McLeod and Stephane Yelle each suffered leg injuries yesterday.
-Why they're not mathematically eliminated, this loss probably ended Dallas' playoff hopes.
-Mikko Koivu had a goal and two assists for the Wild in a 4-2 defeat of the Blues. Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen each recorded a goal and an assist for Minnesota while teammate Martin Havlat added two assists. Josh Harding made 36 saves in the victory.
-Check out one of Harding's saves:
-St. Louis' D.J. King bloodied Minnesota's Derek Boogaard:
-Cool photo of the fight:
-"I don't think he gave 'Kinger' the respect that he needed. Kinger caught him with a good one and now Boogaard is rearranging his face tonight ... that's what he gets for not having any respect." - Blues forward Cam Janssen on the fight.
Pacific Division
-Shootout goals by Radim Vrbata and Adrian Aucoin gave the Coyotes a 3-2 win at Atlanta. Keith Yandle had two assists for Phoenix while Jason LaBarbera (above) made 39 saves in the victory. Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov each had a goal and an assist in regulation for the Thrashers.
-Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks in a 4-2 win against the Sharks. Selanne's goal was the 599th of his career. Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in the victory. Jamie McGinn led San Jose with a goal and an assist.
-It wasn't all good for the Ducks. Selanne ("upper-body") and Ryan Getzlaf (ankle) were both dinged up.
-Selanne's injury:
-The Kings demoted goaltender Jonathan Bernier to Manchester of the AHL.
Adams Division
-Today would've been the 101th birthday of former Pittsburgh Yellowjackets defenseman Joe Matte.
(Photos: Penguins/Lightning-Mike Carlson/Associated Press; Flyers/Rangers-Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press and Nick Laham/Getty Images; Maple Leafs/Islanders-Paul J. Bereswill/Associated Press and Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Capitals/Blackhawks-Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press; Predators/Kings-Victor Decolongon/Getty Images and Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press; Flames/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press; Avalanche/Stars-Sharon Ellman/Associated Press; Blues/Wild-Jim Mone/Associated Press; Coyotes/Thrashers-John Bazemore/Associated Press)